


Carry the Flame

by HushTheNoise



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 19:23:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19752211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HushTheNoise/pseuds/HushTheNoise
Summary: Aqua accidentally assumes Lea and Isa are dating when she posts a picture of them up for the world to see.Lea panics like a motherf*ckerBased on a wip by @naotoosh over on Twitter





	Carry the Flame

**Author's Note:**

> This 100% happened because of a wip by @Naotoosh on twitter where Lea is making Very Obvious heart-eyes at Isa in a photograph. I just HAD to know what would happen when Lea saw the picture.

It was a nice photo, it really was. The day had been bright and sunny, and the kids had enjoyed themselves, sparring, racing, and getting up to general mischief. Even Lea and Isa had enjoyed the time off, taking the opportunity to unwind and cut loose a little. Their impromptu round of catch had even turned into a wrestling match in the sand (Isa won).  
  
Lea had still been shaking sand out of his hair when Aqua had called them together for a ‘family photo’ with Xion, Roxas, and Namine. Their first family portrait. The thought had warmed Lea more than the sunshine, that he and Isa had somehow managed to bring this little group together into a makeshift family. _Their_ family. He hadn’t realized that he’d been smiling at Isa, the softest, most doting smile. The smile of a man who had clearly been head over heels for his best friend since they were six. And now there it was.  
  
For all of Kingstagram to see.  
  
And he might have gotten away with it, if not for Aqua’s completely unprompted caption: _Last Sunday at the beach! Lea and Isa sure make a cute couple, huh?_  
  
Lea felt all seven stages of grief in one go, coming back around to spin his wheels on sheer, unbridled _panic_. Isa barely used his Kingstagram account, so there was a slim chance that he wouldn’t see it. The problem was that other people absolutely would, and the questions they might get from any of their friends at the gathering that night could make things awkward, to say the least.  
  
And Lea was _not_ ready for that talk with Isa.  
  
Why would Aqua even do something like that? It’s not like he’d done anything to piss her off that he could recall, and she didn’t seem like a particularly vindictive person even if he had…  
  
He had to do something, and a simple text message was just not going to cut it. Lea dialed Aqua’s number, and a few tones later she appeared on the screen, sunlight catching in her blue hair.  
  
“Oh, hey Lea!” she greeted him cheerfully, before gauging from his expression that all was not well. “Is everything okay?”  
  
“Hey so uh… Why did you post that picture?” he asked, forgoing pleasantries in this moment of crisis, voice low in case anyone else happened near the living room.  
  
“I thought you’d like it! The photo came out really nice, right?” said Aqua, brows knit in confusion.  
  
The words burst out of Lea, sudden and dismayed. “ _We’re not dating!_ ”  
  
“What? But you looked so—”  
  
“Because I’m—! _Don’t worry about it_ , just please, please take it down before he sees it!” he begged.  
  
“Yeah, of course!” she replied, eyes wide and apologetic. “I’m so sorry, Lea, I had no idea. I don’t know why I assumed…”  
  
“Well, it’s not like that,” he said, and if she could hear the disappointment in his voice, she wisely said nothing. “But thanks, I really appreciate it. Things are still a little touch and go since he came back and I don’t want things to be…weird.”  
  
“It’s not a problem, Lea,” answered Aqua with a sympathetic smile, though she still seemed a little uneasy for some reason.  
  
“What?” pressed Lea.  
  
“The thing is…” She hesitated. “The others have already shared it.”  
  
Lea groaned. “What others?” he asked, dreading the answer he knew was coming.  
  
“…Pretty much everyone.”  
  
“Listen, Aqua, I gotta go,” he said, not looking forward to the amount of damage control he’d have to do to keep this fiasco from reaching Isa. “See if you can talk anyone on your end into taking it down.”  
  
“Terra’s already deleted it,” she said, nodding to — presumably — Terra off-screen. “We’ll talk to Ventus. Again— _really_ sorry. I didn’t know you two weren’t together yet.”  
  
“It’s okay, Aqua. I’ll see you tonight, yeah?” Lea said, giving her his best smile before hanging up.  
  
_Yet? As if I could ever be that lucky._  
  
***  
  
Trying to wipe a single image off the face of the app proved to be surprisingly more difficult than Lea anticipated. He’d have to talk to Ienzo about the fact that deleting the source image really didn’t do much when it didn’t erase the photo that people shared to their own feeds, too.  
  
He managed to get a hold of Riku, who looked surprised to be getting a call from Lea at all but seemed suspiciously understanding of the redhead’s odd request.  
  
“Sure, I’ll let Sora and Kairi know. That’s rough, Lea,” he said, and Lea sighed.  
  
“Thanks. I’m just trying to get to everyone else in time,” he explained.  
  
Riku nodded. “I’ll talk to whoever I can. Do you know who else shared it?”  
  
Lea held up his fingers, counting down and quickly running out of fingers. “Namine, Roxas, Xion, Ienzo— pretty much the whole Radiant Garden crew except for Even… Hayner and his gang, Donald, Goofy, The King, _Yen Sid_ somehow?”  
  
Riku’s mouth twitched with amusement. “Master Yen Sid has an account?”  
  
“ _Apparently!_ ” said Lea, tossing up a hand in bewilderment. “How do you even get in touch with that guy?”  
  
“Sora can call up Donald and Goofy, I’ll try to locate the King,” Riku volunteered, which was actually pretty generous of him considering they all knew how busy King Mickey was and this whole matter was actually… pretty small potatoes. Lea almost told him not to bother, but reconsidered. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry. I’m assuming you got to Namine, Roxas, and Xion?”  
  
Lea nodded. “Not yet, but I’ll go find them after this. They’re probably out with their friends, which is great since I’ll just talk to them all in one go.”  
  
“Alright, I’ll keep you updated!” said Riku before signing off, and Lea was left feeling strangely reassured. Riku was one of those that he felt a strange kinship with, largely because they were both absolutely unequivocally stuck on similar boats. The only difference was Isa was never going to happen in a million years, and Riku actually stood a fair shot at ending up with Sora.  
  
Well, if he could actually get his shit together long enough to be upfront about his feelings, anyway.  
  
***  
  
Xion, Roxas, and Namine were easily handled, as were their friends, but some promises involving pizza were made and that was going to be very difficult to explain to Isa without completely blowing his cover. Still, he was making progress, and with any luck, Isa would go the whole party (and hopefully the rest of his life) without realizing how stupidly in love Lea was with him.  
  
Things had finally settled into a gentle rhythm in their home, the old mansion in Twilight Town fixed up and decorated for their little stitched-together family. Lea couldn’t risk doing anything that would shatter that peace, not after how hard he’d worked to get it back. How hard he’d worked to get _all_ of them back. It would have been easier to just let the photo go and laugh it off if Isa ever said anything about it, but he wasn’t ready for the conversation that could happen if Isa found the situation… awkward. His heart still felt too new and raw to risk having it broken like that.  
  
He had just gotten off the phone with Ienzo (who seemed to consider hanging him out to dry for a moment but eventually agreed to take the photo down) when Riku called, and his face didn’t speak of good news.  
  
“I can’t get a hold of the King,” he said, looking more disappointed in himself than Lea felt about that. They’d both known it was the longest of shots.  
  
And _everyone_ followed the King’s account, which meant _everyone_ had probably seen it by now — or worse — shared it. There was no getting that photo back, it was out there, and Lea was just going to have to deal with the chips as they fell. He really hoped Aqua didn’t feel terrible about it, it wasn’t her fault he was completely incapable of hiding his feelings for his best friend.  
  
“Eh, that’s alright, kid, you tried,” he said, giving Riku his most relaxed smile. “Thanks anyway. Say hi to everyone for me, okay?”  
  
Riku gave him a small smile and nodded. “I will. Good luck, Lea.”  
  
Lea didn’t think Luck was going to be enough this time.  
  
***  
  
He spent the afternoon mulling over what he would say, over and over again turning words around in his head. Just a single idea, any tactic at all to help him walk away from this as unscathed as possible. He _had_ to talk to Isa about it and get ahead of it soon, he was running out of time.  
  
“Lea, are you alright?” Isa asked, pausing by Lea’s open bedroom door. “You’ve been… odd all day.”  
  
Lea stopped pacing and looked over at him with a nervous laugh. “Have I? Sorry, I hadn’t noticed. I’m just excited to see everyone again, I guess,” he said, scratching the back of his head. Isa’s frown deepened, and Lea could tell he wasn’t convinced. “I’m fine, I’m fine, just trying to decide what to wear.”  
  
“The scarlet button-down is always a good look,” Isa replied, looking like he wanted to press the matter but not sure how to. He dropped his gaze and pulled back from the doorway, about to head downstairs when he stopped again, eyes troubled. “Lea… are you sure you’re okay?”  
  
His voice was soft, full of concern that tugged painfully at Lea’s guilt. He hated making Isa worry like this. They weren’t supposed to keep things from each other, not _important_ things. It was one of their promises as they rebuilt their friendship, but this… this thing could _end_ their friendship. And he just couldn’t have that.  
  
“I’m alright, Isa,” Lea reassured him with a smile. “It’s nothing.”  
  
Isa’s fingers tensed, digging into the doorway for a moment before releasing it. “Fine. Well… if you need to talk… Anyway, I’ll see you downstairs,” he said, and Lea could hear his heavy footsteps as he descended the staircase.  
  
Lea ran a hand through his hair, sighing as a single thought echoed through his mind.  
  
_You missed your chance._  
  
***  
  
The gummi ship landed on the other side of the island from where the party gathered, Riku graciously ferrying them from Twilight Town. Xion, Roxas, and Namine practically bounced out of the ship, leaving Lea and Isa to trail behind them as Riku took off to pick up more party members.  
  
Lea couldn’t help but feel the uncomfortable distance between him and Isa throughout the ride. Isa was often quiet those days, but this was different. It was like he was far away, lost in thoughts that Lea couldn’t begin to fathom. He hated that it was probably because of him and what happened that afternoon.  
  
Or worse, had Isa seen the photo somehow? Oh god, he was probably thinking about how to break it to Lea gently that it was never ever going to happen… or that it was probably best if he moved out…  
  
The kids rounded the corner up ahead and Lea could hear the sounds of laughter and music from the beach party. Would Isa move out to avoid the awkwardness between them? After all this time, after everything he’d done, was it all going to break because of his stupid, dumb feelings? He had to talk to him, he had to do it now before—  
  
“Lea?” Isa sounded confused as he glanced back at him, and Lea realized he’d reached out and taken hold of Isa’s arm, stopping them both in their tracks.  
  
“I… um…” Lea stammered, wishing he’d done a better job of figuring out what to say. He released Isa’s arm, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “There’s something you need to know…”  
  
Isa eyed him warily. “What did you do?”  
  
“Nothing!” said Lea quickly, before thinking better of it. “I mean… not quite nothing, I guess… Look, there’s this picture, and it’s up on Kingstagram and everyone’s shared it by now— I tried to explain to everyone what was going on but—”  
  
“Lea, slow down. What picture?” asked Isa, puzzled, which at least was reassuring because it meant that he hadn’t seen it yet. But still, there was really no going back now, was there?  
  
“The picture Aqua took of us a few weeks ago… She thought we were, uh… She thought we were a couple. But I let her know that wasn’t true, and chased after everyone to take it down—”  
  
Isa held up a hand, bringing Lea’s rambling to a quick stop. “All this over a photo and some assumptions? Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?”  
  
Lea bit his lip, knowing that he didn’t tip his hand so much as he flat out laid the cards on the table for Isa.  
  
“Can I see it?”  
  
His blush deepened, but Lea pulled out his phone, handing it to Isa a few moments later with the incriminating photo on the screen.  
  
Isa studied the photo for what felt like an eternity to Lea, his expression inscrutable. Lea would have given anything to know what going through his mind in those few seconds.  
  
“I… I know how it looks, but I promise I’m not— I mean, I know this is all… complicated, and I don’t want to make things awkward or anything,” he rambled again, trying to couch his heart from the hurt he knew was coming. “You know our friendship and the kids are the most important things to me—”  
  
“Lea.”  
  
Lea looked up, and Isa was inches away now, blue eyes locked on his, a glimmer of a laugh in the depths of his gaze. The rest of the diatribe died in his throat.  
  
“Yeah?” he whispered.  
  
“Stop talking,” said Isa, and kissed him.  
  
Lea froze has Isa’s lips brushed his, soft, hesitant, and his heart hammered an erratic rhythm as he tried to wrap his mind around the warmth of the mouth pressed against his own. All too quickly it was gone as Isa drew back, confusion and fear in his eyes.  
  
“Sorry, did I—”  
  
He didn’t get a chance to finish as Lea wound his arms around Isa’s waist and drew him into another kiss, the echo of pain, heartache, and uncertainty he’d carried all these years abruptly chased away by the joy that thrummed through every cell. He felt a hand wind its way through his hair as Isa pulled them flush against each other, the painstaking dance they’d been carefully doing all these years coming to a sudden head. So long, he’d waited _so long_ , thinking it could never happen, that it was a fool’s dream. That Isa would never seem him as more than what they were.  
  
And yet it felt like the right moment, like any time before would have been too soon. They had their hearts, their family, and each other, and it felt _right_.  
  
Isa drew back again, giving Lea’s lower lip a playful nibble as they both caught their breath and slowed their spinning minds. “So,” he said simply, and Lea broke into a wide grin.  
  
“So,” Lea said in return, fingers splayed against the small of Isa’s back. Isa’s eyes shut with a faint hum of pleasure as he pressed their foreheads together, basking in the moment and the sunset.  
  
“Did I answer some of your… concerns?” asked Isa a moment later, and Lea chuckled softly.  
  
“Thoroughly. How long?” he asked as Isa opened his eyes to look at him, and a faint blush spread across the other man’s cheekbones.  
  
“Since we were kids. I don’t remember when,” Isa replied, though Lea got the feeling that he did remember. He made a mental note to draw it out of him later. “You spent all day chasing after that photo? I didn’t realize you were that oblivious.”  
  
“Hey! I was trying to spare you the awkwardness of—”  
  
Isa leaned in and kissed him again, slow and sweet and perfect.  
  
“—I forget,” finished Lea in a daze as Isa drew back, looking extremely satisfied with himself.  
  
“Well, that’s a neat trick,” he mused, and Lea laughed.  
  
“Great, I’ll never win an argument again,” Lea replied, and Isa arched an eyebrow. Lea could almost guess word for word what Isa was about to say.  
  
“When have you ever won an argument in your life?”  
  
Lea shoved him playfully as they reluctantly pried themselves apart, but Isa reached down and laced their fingers together.  
  
“So I suppose Aqua was right after all,” said Isa, and Lea shook his head with a grin.  
  
“I guess so. I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear that. Oh but uh… There’s one more thing you need to know,” he added, and Isa looked at him with confusion. “The kids are going to be having pizza every night for dinner this month.”  
  
“ _What_?”  
  
“Xion drives a hard bargain, okay?” Lea said by way of an excuse, and Isa could only shake his head, too elated to be more than amused.  
  
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, Aqua needs vindication,” he said, giving Lea’s hand a gentle squeeze as they made their way down to the twilit beach.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at @LuzdeLunis on Twitter!


End file.
